Catacombs (1965 film)

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Catacombs
DVD Cover
Directed byGordon Hessler
Screenplay byDaniel Mainwaring
Based onCatacombs
(1959 novel)
by Jay Bennett
Produced byJack Parsons
Neil McCallum
StarringGary Merrill
Georgina Cookson
Jane Merrow
CinematographyArthur Lavis
Edited byRobert Winter
Music byCarlo Martelli
Production
companies
Parroch-McCallum
Associated Producers International
British Lion
Distributed byBritish Lion Films (United Kingdom)
Warner Bros. Pictures (United States)
Release date
  • 5 May 1965 (1965-05-05)
Running time
84 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Catacombs (U.S. title: The Woman Who Wouldn't Die) is a 1965 British horror film directed by Gordon Hessler and starring Gary Merrill, Georgina Cookson and Jane Merrow.[1][2] The film was based on the 1959 novel of the same title by Jay Bennett.

Plot

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An astute business woman is murdered by her husband who intends to carry on with his affair with her niece after her death. However, he soon finds himself haunted by his late wife.

Cast

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Production

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Filming

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The film was shot at Shepperton Studios with sets designed by the art director George Provis.

Distribution

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Warner Brothers picked it up for distribution in the US.[3]

Critical reception

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The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "One would have thought that the days of the murder story with the corpse buried in the potting-shed were long over, but the situation is revived here not entirely without effect. The preliminaries setting the domestic scene are much too long, but after the murder things perk up considerably, with one or two nice macabre effects. The acting is sound enough in general, with a striking performance by Georgina Cookson as the bitchy wife."[4]

References

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  1. ^ "Catacombs". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 1 August 2024.
  2. ^ BFI.org
  3. ^ "British film to be shown here". New York Times. 15 June 1964. ProQuest 115838142.
  4. ^ "Catacombs". The Monthly Film Bulletin. 34 (396): 9. 1 January 1967 – via ProQuest.
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